Dago Mary’s – Just Like Rochester in the Seventies

What is Dago Mary’s? It’s part old-school Italian and part old-school Californian. The crowd is largely older, white, and male.

The place reminds david kaplan of all the Italian restaurants from his childhood in Rochester, New York, right down to bread dip made of pureed canned chickpeas and canned kidney beans, with olive oil and chopped garlic. It’s very 70’s upstate New York. What’s more, it’s located in an old bordello. “With the odd old-fashioned decor, and big windows looking onto the largely deserted construction site that is Hunter’s Point Shipyard, it felt like a colonial outpost holding on against the coming revolution.”

Spaghetti with meatballs is excellent. Spaghetti is perfectly al dente, and the meatballs are fantastic, well-browned and studded with onion bits and herbs. The sweet oniony insides contrast nicely with the charred meaty exteriors. Linguine with manila clams is also al dente, with a satisfyingly salty, garlicky sauce that’s rich, but doesn’t overpower the clams.

Desserts are forgettable.

Dago Mary’s [Hunter’s Point] 916 Hunter’s Point Shipyard, near Third St. and Evans Ave., San Francisco 415-822-2633 Locator: http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypMap.py?Pyt=Typ&tuid=9855040&ck=2889691906